Kilo Lingo

(yào shi) - key (for lock) in Mandarin

yàoshi

Traditional: 鑰匙

Line drawing of 钥匙
Coloured illustration of 钥匙
HSK 4
#862 of 5,000 Core 1000

Translation

key (for lock)

Word origin

A compound of 钥 (yào, 'key') and 匙 (shi, 'key, spoon'). 钥 is a phono-semantic compound of 钅(metal radical) with 月 as phonetic; 匙 pairs 匕 (a spoon shape) with 是 (shì) as phonetic.

Origin
compound
Root
钥 (yào; 钅metal + phonetic) + 匙 (shi; 匕 spoon + 是 shì phonetic)

Stroke order

Stroke order for 钥

Stroke order for 匙

Examples

I can't find the key.

Give me the door key.

He opened the door with the key.

I left the keys inside the car.

lín

My neighbour keeps a spare key for me.

钥匙 (yào shi) means key (for lock). It is used as a noun in everyday Mandarin speech.

Used in

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This word is part of lesson 18.